Are We Preaching A True Gospel?

Saving Faith Part 2

Going back to what I was saying earlier about faith being more than credence, I wanted to state a concise definition of the gospel and what you must do to be saved.

The gospel in one sentence is that you are a sinner and that you must place your faith in Christ alone to be saved. What does that mean? Here is what I have heard from preachers and believe that the Bible says and testifies about as to what true saving faith is.

1. When the Bible says that you are a sinner it means that you are committed to yourself as lord of your life and you are driven by your needs and goals and feel that it is your right to attain them (Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:9-20; Romans 10:3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5). You are in rebellion as God to your master and are a slave to your other master who is Satan and he is lord of sin and rebellion. So all who are rebels are slaves of sin and ultimately Satan (Romans 6:20-22).
2. For this, you are promised eternal separation from God in hell after you die and the absence of his covenant grace in this life (Hebrews 9:27, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 2:3, Philippians 1:28).
3. To be saved you must surrender the control of your life to Christ to follow and serve him for as long as you live and vow to live your life in obedience to whatever he tells you to do from now on (Romans 10:9-10, Luke 6:46-49, Luke 9:23-25, John 12:25-26).

Reformed, Gospel Preaching Pastors

Grace To You

Widely known for his thorough, candid approach to teaching God’s Word, John MacArthur is a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker, and has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969. John and his wife, Patricia, have four grown children and fourteen grandchildren.

John’s pulpit ministry has been extended around the globe through his media ministry, Grace to You, and its satellite offices in Australia, Canada, Europe, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa. In addition to producing daily radio programs for nearly 2,000 English and Spanish radio outlets worldwide, Grace to You distributes books, software, audiotapes, and CDs by John MacArthur. In thirty-six years of ministry, Grace to You has distributed more than thirteen million CDs and audiotapes.

John is the president of The Master's College and The Master's Seminary, and he has written hundreds of books and study guides (see below), each one thoroughly biblical and practical. Best-selling titles include The Gospel According to Jesus, The Second Coming, Ashamed of the Gospel, Twelve Ordinary Men, and The MacArthur Study Bible, a 1998 ECPA Gold Medallion recipient.

Ligonier Ministries

Dr. Robert Charles Sproul was born in 1939 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, which started as the Ligonier Valley Study Center in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, more than thirty years ago. In an effort to respond more effectively to the growing demand for Dr. Sproul’s teachings and Ligonier’s other educational resources, the general offices were moved to Orlando, Florida, in 1984, and the ministry was renamed “Ligonier Ministries.”

Dr. R.C. Sproul is featured daily on Renewing Your Mind, an international radio broadcast that has aired for more than ten years with an estimated two million people tuning in every week on more than 235 radio outlets in the United States and throughout more than 40 countries. Dr. Sproul is a respected teacher, theologian, and pastor. He is currently serving as the director of Serve International, and as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel (www.saintandrewschapel.org) in Sanford, Florida. Dr. Sproul is ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Desiring God

John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God's call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.) and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books and more than 25 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and an increasing number of grandchildren.

Sovereign Grace Ministries

C.J. Mahaney leads Sovereign Grace Ministries in its mission to establish and support local churches. After 27 years of pastoring Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, C.J. handed the senior pastor role to Joshua Harris on September 18, 2004, allowing C.J. to devote his full attention to Sovereign Grace. He serves on the Council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and on the board of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

C.J.'s books include Humility: True Greatness; Living the Cross-Centered Life; and Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God. He is the editor of Worldliness and Why Small Groups?, and has coauthored other books in Sovereign Grace Ministries’ Pursuit of Godliness series.

C.J. and his wife, Carolyn, have three married daughters and one son. They make their home in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Heart Cry Missionary Society

Paul Washer completed his bachelor degree at the University of Texas. Shortly thereafter he enrolled at Southwestern Theological Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity degree. Paul left the states shortly after graduation as a North American missionary to Peru.

Paul ministered as a missionary in Peru for 10 years, during which time he founded the HeartCry Missionary Society to support Peruvian Church planters. HeartCry's work now supports over 80 indigenous missionaries in 15 different countries throughout Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

An itinerant preacher, Paul also frequently teaches at his home church, First Baptist Church of Muscle Shoals, and is the author of The One True God: A Biblical Study of the Doctrine of God.

At the present, Paul serves as the Director of HeartCry Missionary Society and resides in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with his wife Charo and two sons Ian and Evan, and one daughter Rowan.

First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman

Thabiti Anyabwile, Senior Pastor, is a native of Lexington, North Carolina (U.S.). He is the happy husband of Kristie and the adoring father of two daughters, Afiya and Eden, and son, Titus. He began serving as elder/senior pastor in August 2006. He served previously as an elder/assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church (Washington, DC) and as an elder at Church on the Rock (Raleigh, NC). Thabiti holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in psychology from North Carolina State University. A former high school basketball coach and bookstore owner, he enjoys preaching, reading, sports, and watching sci-fi films.

First Presbyterian Church of Jackson Mississippi

J. Ligon Duncan III (born 1960) is a Reformed theologian, professor, author, and minister of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). He is currently the senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi—a flagship church of the PCA (the largest conservative Presbyterian denomination in the English-speaking world). His preaching is televised regionally, and he hosts a regionally broadcasted radio program, with Derek Thomas and Bill Wymond, Hymns of the Faith.

Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Mark Dever serves as the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. A Duke graduate, Dr. Dever holds a M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Ecclesiastical History from Cambridge University. He is the president of 9Marks Ministries and has taught at a number of seminaries. Dr. Dever has authored several books and articles, most recently, What is a Healthy Church? and The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (Crossway 2007). Earlier books include Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway 2000, 2004), The Deliberate Church (Crossway 2005), Promises Kept: The Message of the New Testament (Crossway 2005), and Promises Made: The Message of the Old Testament (Crossway 2006). He and his wife Connie live and minister with their son, Nathan, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST - from (Monergism.com)

THE GOSPEL IS A MESSAGE ABOUT:

1. GOD

   • Is. 6:1-5, 5:16; Rev.4:8-11. God is Holy.
   • Dan. 4:35; Ps. 135:6. God is Sovereign.
   • 1 Jn. 4:8,16. God is Love.
   • Heb. 12:29. God is a Communing Fire.
   • Gen. 17:1; Jer. 32:17; Is. 43:13; Amos 9:2-3. God is Omnipotent.
   • Ps. 139:1-6; Rom. 11:33-36. God is Omniscient
   • Jer. 23:23-24; Ps. 139:7-12. God is Omnipresent
   • Ps. 145:17. God Is Righteous.
   • Ex. 34:6-7. God is Merciful.
   • Rev. 29:11-15. God is a Judge.
   • Jn. 4:23-24. God is a Spirit.
   • 1 Jn. 5:7; 2 Cor.13:14; I Pet. 1:2. God is one God revealed in three distinct persons; Father, Son, & Holy Spirit (trinity, not modalism).
   • Jn. 1:1-3, 14,18, 10:30-33, 17:5, 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rm. 9:5; Phi. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; I Tim. 3:16; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:1-12; II Pet. 1:1; Rev. 1:8. Jesus is God--YHWH.

2. SIN

   • Gen. 2:15-17. Adam and Eve's disobedience resulted in spiritual and physical death.
   • Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death.
   • Dt. 6:4-5. However, before sin entered the world man's purpose was to serve God and glorify Him.
   • Matt. 22:34-40. Therefore, man is now living in an abnormal condition.
   • Rom. 3:10, 5:6-9; Lk. 5:31,32 There is none righteous, no not one!
   • Rom. 3:23. Everyone, without exception, is a sinner.
   • Rom 5:12. Adam's sin nature is inherited by all mankind.
   • Is. 64:6-7. God views our good deeds as “filthy rags.”
   • Eph. 2:8-9. God rejects our good works.
   • Ps. 51:5, 58:3. We are sinners from birth.
   • Jn. 3:19. Sinners love their sin.

3. THE LAW

   • Ex. 20:1-20. The Ten Commandments must by obeyed perfectly.
   • Mt. 22:34-40. If we disobey the 1st & 2nd greatest commandments we have broken all of the Bible’s laws.
   • Ja. 2:10-11. If we break one commandment we’ve broken them all.
   • Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:24. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to reveal sin in us and disclose our inability in keeping the law’s demands. This creates an attitude of desperation in sinners to be delivered from the guilt and penalty of the law. Christ alone is the sinners hope.

4. THE VANITY OF LIFE

   • Heb. 9:27. Three things are common to all: Life, Death, & Judgment.
   • 2 Pet. 3:8; Ja. 4:13-14. Life Is short: The earth will be covered by all new people 110 years from now. Our life span is compared to one grain of sand taken from one planet among a thousand planets covered with sand. After you die no one remembers you (Eccl. 1:11, 2:16).
   • Eccl. 12:8,13,14, Life is vain: Solomon, the wisest man who lived, had everything this world has to offer yet he judged this life as totally vain and futile. Nevertheless, man pursues the vain things of this world against all reason, logic and intelligence (2 Tim. 3:7).
   • Lk. 12:16-21. Life is fragile: You may die tonight! Many labor to extend their life through exercise and vitamins but will add only a few years.
   • Eccl. 5:15; 1 Tim. 6:7; Lk. 9:24. Money and riches are vain.

5. HELL & JUDGEMENT

   • Rev. 20:11-15. The great white throne judgment.
   • Matt. 25:41-46. Everlasting fire and punishment for the unsaved.
   • Heb. 9:27. After this life comes judgment.
   • Lk. 16:19-31. Hell is a place of unceasing pain and torment with no escape.

6. THE NEW BIRTH

   • Jn. 3:1-7. Jesus teaches that the “new birth” is necessary for salvation.
   • Jn. 1:13. Salvation is not inherited from our parents, secured by our effort, nor decided by our will, but is a process by which we are “born of God.”
   • 2 Cor. 5:17. To be born again means that our old life is replaced by a new one.
   • Eph. 4:21-24; Col. 3:9-10. When a person becomes “born again” the Bible describes him as a “new person,” who brings forth new fruit.
   • Gal. 6:15. All that matters is that we become a “new creation.”

7. GRACE

   • Eph. 2:8,9. Grace is a free gift, it is unmerited favor.
   • Acts 15:11. We are saved by the grace of Christ.
   • Rom. 4:3-5. Salvation is by grace through faith and not by the deeds of the law.
   • Tit. 3:5-7; Rom.3:24. We are “Justified” freely by His grace.

8. REPENTANCE

   • Lk. 13:3. Unless we repent, we will all perish.
   • Acts 3:19. We must repent and be converted.
   • Matt. 4:17. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” however; the world ridicules the need of repentance.
   • Acts 26:20. We must repent and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.
   • I Jn. 1:9. If we confess our sins He will forgive us our sins.
   • Prov. 28:13. He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confess and forsakes them will have mercy.
   • Ps. 66:18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

9. FAITH

   • Heb. 11:6. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
   • Jn. 20:24-29. Blessed are they who do not see yet believe.
   • Jn. 3:16-19. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal fife.
   • Eph. 2:8. We are saved by grace “through faith.”
   • Gal. 3:23-26. We are saved through faith in Christ and not by keeping the law.
   • Rom. 3:28, 5:1. We ore justified through faith in Christ.
   • Gal. 3:11; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:38; Hab. 2:4. “The just shall live by faith.”

10. SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST ALONE

    • Jn. 14:6. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
    • 1 Jn. 5:11-13. He that has the “Son” has life, and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life­.
    • Acts 4:10-12. Salvation is in none other than Jesus Christ.
    • Rev. 3:20. Jesus knocks on the door of our heart.
    • Rom. 10:13. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
    • Jn. 3:36. He who does not believe on the Son of God has the wrath of God on him.

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This concise overview of the Gospel is an excellent tool for Bible study, discipleship, evangelism and group studies. For a laminated copy of this card to keep in your
Bible for ready use write to: CHRIST BIBLE Pulpit, P.O. Box 5772, Oakland, CA.
94605 U.S.A.; or E-mail us @ wildernesstable@yahoo.com; or call (510) 727-1877.